The $38.5 billion deal brokered between Republicans and President Barack Obama on Friday night may have resolved the immediate threat of a government shutdown. But it didn’t take long for many liberal Democrats to begin to realize that there might be not much cause for celebration in the substance of that deal.

In the final hours before the federal government was to run out of money April 8, Democrats homed in on attempts by Republicans to pass anti-abortion policy riders that would defund women’s health programs and Planned Parenthood. But soon after the deal was struck, Democrats turned back to a debate not about where to cut, but whether there should be cuts at all - and who should bear the brunt of the burden.

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Princeton University professor Paul Krugman noted that by agreeing to this level of budget cuts, Obama had accepted the premise that the economy has recovered enough to withstand the withdrawal of federal spending. Despite the fragile economic recovery, the economy is still not strong enough, Krugman argued.

“It’s worth noting that this follows just a few months after another big concession, in which he gave in to Republican demands for tax cuts,” Krugman said in his New York Times column on Saturday. “The net effect of these two sets of concessions is, of course, a substantial increase in the deficit.”

But it seemed that the Obama administration had long ago abandoned that line of argument.

In the early stages of negotiations with Republicans, Obama surrendered the $40 billion in spending increases that he had originally requested in his 2011 budget and began to look for billions more to bring spending cuts closer to the nearly $100 billion level House Republicans had demanded.

And as far back as last November, Obama, declaring the message of the midterm election learned, made it clear that getting the economy growing and the budget deficit under control would be his top priorities. And, in his view, that meant spending cuts.

“I think the overwhelming message that I hear from the voters is that we want everybody to act responsibly in Washington,” Obama said in a press conference the day after Democrats lost control of the House and also lost six seats in the Senate. “We want you to work harder to arrive at consensus. We want you to focus completely on jobs and the economy and growing it, so that we’re ensuring a better future for our children and our grandchildren.”

What followed was a budget compromise deal that irked Democrats for many of the same reasons this most recent compromise with Republicans has muted the joy about an averted shutdown among progressive members in the House.

The tax deal gave Republicans much of what they demanded — an extension of tax cuts for the wealthy — in exchange for the extension of unemployment benefits for the poor. And this most recent budget deal gives Republicans more in spending cuts than House Speaker John Boehner had asked for. In exchange, funding for Planned Parenthood and women’s health issues were spared.

At least some Democrats now say that those cuts were too deep, and will disproportionately affect the poor.

“The American people have been told the agreement contains both ‘historic’ and ‘painful’ cuts. The question will be painful for whom,” said Rep. George Miller in a statement in shortly after the California Democrat and other Democrats voted against the first of two pieces of legislation that would allow the government to stay open for rest of the fiscal year.

“Poor and middle-class families have already received more than their fair share of pain in this economy, while the wealthy and special interests have paid no price.”

And Republicans managed to preserve controversial policy riders targeting abortion funding in the District of Columbia, to the anger of local officials. Washington Mayor Vincent Gray released a scathing statement on Saturday morning calling the deal “ludicrous” and declaring that once again, the people of nation’s capital had been “been sacrificed on the altar of political expediency.”

Eleanor Holmes Norton, who occupies Washington’s at-large congressional seat but does not have a vote in the House, called the administration and Senate Democrats hypocritical for not defending access to women’s health services in the District with the same vigor with which they defended Planned Parenthood’s funding at the national level.

Readers' Comments (333)

Cut defense spending - raise taxes to Clinton levels (when the budget was last balanced). Problem solved. This country has PLENTY of money to care for our elderly, ensure access to decent health care and guarantee a basic education for our citizens. Stop the Plutocracy!

It will be interesting to see how long Conservatives will support the idea of cutting taxes for the rich and corporations, and paying for it on the back of the middle class, the poor, the elderly, students, and kids. It will eventually create so much wealth disparity (already the highest in history) that the pain will surely be felt among the wingnut crowd. They cant all be Millionaires and Billionaires.

Disheartened? Why? The spineless republicans were the ones that caved. Following the elections, they were demanding $100 billion in cuts and in the end all they could get was a lousy $38 billion! That's $38 BILLION shaved off a projected $1.6 TRILLION dollar deficit for this year. This nation is screwed. The republicans are gutless and the democrats are insane.

Disheartened? Why? The spineless republicans were the ones that caved. Following the elections, they were demanding $100 billion in cuts and in the end all they could get was a lousy $38 billion! That's $38 BILLION shaved off a projected $1.6 TRILLION dollar deficit for this year. This nation is screwed. The republicans are gutless and the democrats are insane.

What are the specifics of what programs are cut and how much? Doesn't anyone care? Do we now operate in legisltaion by secrecy?

Do the news media really care about nothing else but the horse race, and who wins and losses? Give them all a ring of flowers so they can wear them around their neck like race horses, and perhaps the news media should be a bookie and take bets on who is up and who is down and who will win the race.

But since the devil is in the details maybe the news media should find out and report some details.

You are correct sir (or madame) and Praise the Lord that only 38 Billion more has been added onto the backs of the middle class while the Plutocrats sip their fine wine on the hilltop - richer than ever.

Forcing Hooverite spending cuts when the economy is still weak is a good way to invite a double-dip recession. For Republicans, who don't give a hoot about working people and place Party before country, continued high unemployment works to their benefit for 2012. Obama will bear the brunt of the blame if unemployment levels remain high.

The plutocrats who control this country are having a grand old time with the Grand Old Party doing their bidding. Shared sacrifice, anyone? LOL Not for our masters.

Thank God, Eleanor Holmes Norton doesn't have a vote. She represents one of the largest communities of people living on tax payer's money in the nation. Her community, and others like it, see the government as their own personal support system. I think the cuts that were made were tiny compared to what is needed. We are losing our nation due to the squandering of our nations wealth by liberal politicians. Shut down the Dept. of Education, Dept. of Energy, Dept. of Commerce, and every other unneeded thing this government has its hand in. Stop funding NPR, Planned Parenthood, organizations similar to what ACORN was, agencies benefiting illegal aliens, etc. Change the federal income tax to a flat 15% for everyone, no matter what their income is so everyone pays their fair share of taxes. Then we could shut down 95% of the IRS for another big savings. Stop paying retirement for members of congress that have only served one or two terms. Stop the ridiculous practice of providing a staff for the First Lady or giving her any say in anything to do with the government. She wasn't elected to public office. Support your local TEA Party and let's take our country back.